Mamak Rojak is a popular Malay snack which has Indian flavors. Rojak is basically a salad either made of fruit or vegetables; it is popular among South-East Asian Countries. Wikipedia states that Rojak is a Malaysian term for “mixture” to show the ethnic mixture in Malaysia and neighboring countries.
Mamak Rojak, also known as the Indian Rojak, is made by Indian Muslims locally in Malaysia. (Mamak is derived from Mama which means Uncle in Tamil). It is a spicy hot salad with piping hot chillies and vegetable gravy. Usually a vegetarian food, it is also served with seafood.
Try this recipe below and create your own variations of Mamak Rojak by mixing the vegetables.
Ingredients
100g small prawns
4 eggs
Oil for deep-frying
3 potatoes
1 tsp ground chilli paste
1/2 tsp salt
5 soya bean cakes
For Garnishing
1 cucumber, shredded
150g bean sprouts, scalded
Hard fritters
For the Dough
1 1/3 cups plain flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp chicken stock
1/2 tsp of pepper
1/2 cup water
1 egg
For the Fritters
1 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
120ml water
1 green chilli, chopped
1/2 an onion, chopped
For the Sauce
450g sweet potatoes
5 cups water
4 tbsp oil
1 ½ tbsp tamarind juice in water
100g sugar Salt to taste
6 shallots, pounded finely
3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp chilli paste
1 tsp Chicken stock
100g toasted peanuts, pounded
1 tsp salt
A little dark soya sauce (for colour)
How to make the Recipe
For making the batter, mix the ingredients except the egg, together in a bowl and add water gradually, mixing it into a smooth paste. Set aside for 40–50 minutes.
Clean potatoes well and boil in their jackets. Peel and rub in ground chilli paste and salt then deep-fry in hot oil. Cut each into wedges. Cut the hardboiled eggs into quarters with an egg-slicer. Halve the other 2 pieces of firm Soya bean cakes diagonally and deep-fry in hot oil till golden brown.
Just before using the batter add the egg and stir well till smooth. Cut 3 Soya bean cakes into thin slices and dip into the batter. Press 2 prawns onto each piece. Deep-fry in hot oil until golden and crispy. Cut each into 4 pieces.
To make the fritters, combine flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and water in a bowl. Mix well and leave aside covered for 30–40 minutes. Just before frying add in the chopped onion and chillies. Shape into a cylinder about 7cm long and 2cm wide. Taper both the ends. Should the dough be sticky, dust hands with extra flour when handling the dough. Deep-fry the fritters in oil until golden brown. Cut each fritter into 4–5 serving pieces.
To make the sauce, boil the sweet potatoes then blend in separate portions with half amount of water. Heat oil in a saucepan and fry ground shallots and garlic, chilli paste and chicken stock. Add in blended sweet potatoes and remaining water. Cook for 3–4 minutes.
Add tamarind juice, palm sugar and salt to taste. Stir continuously over a gentle heat for 2–3 minutes or until sauce is thick. Add peanuts and a little dark soy sauce for colour.
To serve, arrange all the ingredients in a platter and top up with the garnishing and pour sauce gravy over or serve the sauce separately.
You may want to try out another
fruit variation of Rojak over at Zu’s Kitchen.
Char kway teow, literally "stir-fried rice cake strips", is a popular noodle dish in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and Singapore. The dish was (and still is in some places in Malaysia and Singapore) typically prepared at hawker stalls especially in Penang, Malaysia.
